Biodiversity

"Researchers say that more microplastics pollution is getting into farm soil than oceans—and these tiny bits are showing up in our fruits, veggies, and bodies."

"Conservationists at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State have spotted a wolverine mother and her two offspring, known as kits. A reproductive female hasn’t been seen in this national park for over a century, which suggests ecological conditions in the area are improving."

"When a seabird is found with a belly full of plastic bags, or a turtle is strangled by six-pack rings, it's easy to see how our trash turns deadly when it enters the oceans. It's much harder to track the effects of the tens of thousands of chemicals that are dumped in the ocean every day, through sewage, agricultural runoff, and industrial waste—most of which have unknown effects on wild ecosystems."

"Local officials in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to reduce local populations. The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue or the Zika virus."

"Renewable energy corporations have launched an eleventh-hour campaign to derail a petition seeking endangered species protection for Joshua trees, saying it could hinder development of the solar and wind power projects California needs to wean itself off fossil fuels."

"A little-known mammal related to an elephant but as small as a mouse has been rediscovered in Africa after 50 years of obscurity."

"The creatures once symbolized our efforts to save the planet; now they demonstrate all the ways we have devastated it."

"Mink at two Utah fur farms have tested positive for the virus that causes covid-19 in humans, the Department of Agriculture said Monday, announcing the first U.S. cases in a species that has been widely culled in Europe following outbreaks there."

"The century began with a great deal of optimism around marine protected areas as tools to protect the oceans. Two decades later, conservation goals and fishing interests remain at odds."